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Endura Racing’s Scott Thwaites has expressed his joy at winning the 2012 Premier Calendar Series, which he believes has showcased his talents as an all-rounder.
The 22 year-old wrapped up the series with one race still remaining after finishing second at Sunday’s Stockton Festival Road Race, his lead now unassailable for second-placed Marcin Bialoblocki.
The National Circuit Race Champion, a title he claimed in Otley, won the Tour of the Reservoir as well as a stage of the Tour Doon Hame. Together with consistent performances in the other races, Thwaites secured the overall win and will now miss the final event of the series, the Wilton Grand Prix, as he heads to the Vuelta Ciclista a León (UCI 2.1) in Spain and La Mi-Août en Bretagne (UCI 2.2) in France.
“I'm very pleased to win the Premier Calendar Series, it's a big achievement for me as there are so many strong racers in the UK at the moment,” Thwaites, in his third year with Endura Racing, said.
“It's perfect sewing up the series win with one round still to go as we'll be racing abroad then and we won't have to rely on other rider's results at the Wilton Grand Prix to settle things.
“I've enjoyed all of the rounds this year. You can't just rely on your winning a round, you have to be consistent right through the series and that's something I've been able to do."
Scott Thwaites
“I've enjoyed all of the rounds this year. You can't just rely on winning a round, you have to be consistent right through the series and that's something I've been able to do. If I had to pick my favourite moments, it was obviously winning the Tour of the Reservoir, but equally important to me was riding across to the break in the final stage of the Tour Doon Hame, as it showed that I'm not just a sprinter but an all-rounder.”
His triumph is another marker in his impressive rise in the domestic arena, having claimed the Otley Criterium and Stoke-on-Trent round of the Halfords Tour Series in 2011. He followed this with wins in Kirkcaldy and Oxford in this year’s Tour Series before earning a national champion’s jersey in Otley.
Julian Winn, Endura Racing sporting director, commended the team as a whole for their efforts in the series.
“I’ve been really pleased with how we’ve performed in the Premier Calendar races this year but the stand-out race for me was the Tour Doon Hame. The team dominated throughout and it was three young riders in Scott, Jonny McEvoy and Erick Rowsell that did it. It bodes well for Endura Racing and British cycling in general.”
